The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1887-05-19

IeleSU ABOUT your welfare anu
You are fool if you cannot see through it.
They want your money.
In Chestnut street, Philadelphia, while
was living in that city, an incident occurred
which was familiar to us there. In Chestnut
street a young man went into a gambling
saloon, lost all his property, then blew his
brains out, and before the blood was washed
from the floor by the maid the comrades were
shufiing cards again. You see there is more
mercy in the highwayman for the belated
traveller on whose body he heaps the stones,
there is more mercy in the frost for the
flower that it kills. tnere is more mercy in the
hurricane that shivers the steamer on the
Long Island coast, than there is mercy in the
heart of gambler for / is victim.
In the third watch of the night, also, drunk
enness does its worst. The drinking will be
respectable at o'clock in the evening, little
flushed at 0, talkative ana garruious at 10, at
II blasphemous, at u the hat falls off, at
the man falls to the floor asking for more
drink Strewn through the drinking saloons
of the city, fathers, brothers, husbands, sonS
as good as you are by nature, perhaps better.
In the high circles Of society it is hushed up.
a merchant prince if he gets noisy and un-
controllable, is taken by his fellow revelers,
who try to get him to bed, or take him home,
where be falls fat in the entry. DOnot wake
up the children. They have had disgrace
enough Do not let them know it, Hush it
up. But sometimes it cannot be hushed up,
when the rum touches the brain and the man
becomes thoroughly frenzied. Such a one
came home, having been absent for some
time, and during bis absence his wife had
died, and she lay in the next room prepared
for the obsequies, and he went i'll and dragged
her by the locks, and shook her out of her
shroud, and pitched her out of the window.
Oh, when rum touches the brain you can
not hush it up. Ny friends, you see all
around about you the need that something
radical be done You do not see the worst.
| In the midnight meetings at London a great
multitude has been saved We want few
| hundred Christian men and women to come
| down from the highest circles of society to
toll amid these wandering and destitute ones
and kindle up a light i'll the dark alley, even
| the gladness of heaven.
| Do not go wrapped in your fine furs and
| from your well filled tables with the idea that
| pious talk is going to stop the gnawing Of an
| empty stomach or to warm stockingless feet.
| Take bread, take raiment, take medicine as
well as take prayer. There is a great deal Of
common sense in what the poor woman said
| W l1t CIUy IIllSSlOlldiN "uSil H1 was ltlIllis3
her how she ought to love God and serve
Him. "Oh," she said, ''if you were as poor
and cold as | am, and as hungry, you could
think of nothing else."
A great deal of what is called Christian
work goes for nothing, for the simple reason
it is not practical; as after the battle of An
tietam man got out of an ambulance with a
! bag of tracts, and he went distributing the
| tracts, and George Stuart, one of the best
| Christian men in this country, said to him
"What are you distributing tracts for now
| There are 5000 men bleeding to death. Bind
up their wounds and then distribute the
| tracts"
We want more common sense in Christian
work, taking the bread of this life in one
hand and the bread of the next life in the
other hand. No such inapt work as that done
by the Christian man who, during the last
war, went into a hospital with tracts, and
coming to the bed of man whose legs had
been amputated, gave him tract on the sir
of dancing. rejoice before God that never
are sympathetic words uttered, never g
prayer offered, never a Christian almsgivina
INDUCED i'll but it is blessed
There is a place in Switzerland have beer
told, where the utterance of one word viii
bring back score of echoes; and I have tc
tell you this morning that a sympathetic
word, kind word. generous word, a help
full word uttered in the dark places OF The
town will bring back 10000 echoes from al
the thrones Of heaven.
Are there in this assemblage this morning
those who know by experience the tragedies
in the third watch of the nights | am not
here to THRUSH you back with one hard word
Take the bandage from your bruised soul ant
put on it the soothing salve of Christ's gospe
and of Gods compassion. Many have come
I see others coming to God this morning
tired of the sinful life Cry up the news t.
heaven Set all the bells ringing. SpreaC
the banquet under the arches. Let the
crowned heads come down and sit at the jubi
lee. | tell you there is more delight il
heaven over one man that gets reformed by
the grace of God than over ninety and nint
that never got off the track,
| could give you the history, in a minute
of one of the best friends l ever had. Out
side of my own family, never had bette
friend He welcomed me to my home at tn
west, He was of splendid personal appear
ance, but he had an ardor of soul and
warmth of affection that made me love hin
like brother. 4 saw men coming out of th
saloons and gambling hells, and they sur
rounded my friend, and they took him at tn
weak point, his social nature; and | saw hin
going down, and had fair talk with him
for meyer vet saw man you could not tall
with on the subject Of his habits, if you talket
with him i'll the right way. / said to him
''Why don't you give up your bad habits ant
become a Christianp | remember now jus
how he looked, leaning over his counter, q
he repliedi ~ wish [ could. Oh, sir, shoul,
like to be Christian, but ] have gone so ia
astray can't get back"
So the time went on. After awhile the da,
'of sickness came l was summoned to hi
sick bed. hastened, 1t took me but YER
few moments to get there. ! was surprise
as I went in. / saw him in his ordinary dress
fully dressed, lying on top of the bed. | CAV
him my hand, and he seized it convulsively
and said: "Oh, how glad l am to see you'll 81
down there / sat down and he said "Ml
Talmage, just where you sit now my mothe
sat last night. She has been dead twent
years Now don't want you to think l al
out of my mind, or that | am superstitious
but, sir, she sat there last night just as Gel
tainly as you sit there now-the same cap an
apron and spectacles, 1t was my old mother
she sat there" Then he turned to his wife
and said II wish you would take thes
strings off the bed; somebody is wrapping
SUGllHS uIOulu liit All IuS WISH NO
would stop that annoyance" She said
''There is nothing here" Then 1 saw it We
del,rium.
He said. Just where you sit now m
mother sat, and she said. Roswell, wish yo
would do better-I wish you would do better
l said: Mother, wish I could do better;
try to do better, but 1 can't. Mother, yo
used to help me; why can't you help me now
And, sir, got out of bed, for it was reality
and went to her, and threw my arms aroun
her neck, and said; 'Mother, will do bette
but you help; can't do this alone.'" kne
down and prayed. That night his soul WEI
to the Lord that made it.
Arrangements were made for the obsequie
The question vas raised whether they shoul
bring him to the church, Somebody sait
aYou cannot bring such dissolute man
that into the church." l said: "You wi
! bring him in church: he stood by me when
was alive, and will stand by him when he
dead. Bring I'm" As stood in the pulp
and saw them carrying the body up the aisl
Q 80 80 . II "a